The Utah Jazz are playing some great basketball the past month and are climbing up the ladder in the Western Conference standings because of it.  Going into last night’s game, the Jazz had won 9 straight games and have gone 14-2 since January 6th.  It’s not like the Jazz have been playing cupcake teams either, since 10 of those 14 wins have come against teams with a record better than .500.  They are currently 32-19, which puts them only 2.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets who are currently at the two spot in the Western Conference.  The Los Angeles Lakers are still playing great basketball as well, and sit atop the Western Conference at 41-13.  That puts the Jazz 7.5 games behind the Lakers, but if they keep playing at the rate they have been over the past month they could challenge the Lakers.  They did have their chance last night against a Kobe-less Lakers team, but Pau Gasol had a monster night and led the Lakers to a 15 point win.  Still, the Jazz have been playing great team basketball and have been bringing a strong effort on defense every night.  Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Andre Kirilenko have all been playing some great basketball, along with some role-players like Paul Milsap, Ronnie Brewer, and Wesley Mathews.  The Jazz could be a very dangerous team in the West during the playoffs.

Deron Williams has been one of the best PG’s in the NBA for the past few seasons, and this year is no different.  This season Williams is averaging 19.0 points, 9.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 49% FG, and 38% 3Pt.  Williams has led the Jazz to an 28-18 record this season, and they have really played great basketball in the last month.  They have won 5 in a row and went 10-4 in January, with Williams leading the way for them at point guard.  Things were looking a little shaky for the Jazz after the first 2 months of the season, but they have really been hitting their stride lately and are one of the more dangerous teams in the Western Conference once again.  Deron Williams is the main reason why and as he goes, so go the Jazz.

After having an injury-plagued season last year, Carlos Boozer has returned this year healthy and hungry to prove he is one of the top power forwards in the game.  He has yet to miss a game this year and has returned to his old double-double form Jazz fans have grown accustomed to seeing night in and night out.  He is averaging 19.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and is shooting 54% from the field.  Boozer has 28 double-doubles on the season, which is good enough for third best in the NBA behind Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard (both with 32).  The Jazz have won 6 of their last 7 games, and Boozer is a big reason why.  He is showing no signs of slowing down and in the past 7 games Boozer is shooting 55% from the field and is averaging 20.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.9 steals.  In the past few seasons, Boozer has been one of the best forwards in the game, yet he does not get enough recognition he deserves.

SG/SF Kyle Korver has missed most of this season due to him rehabbing a injury but he is on fire shooting the ball. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this season and he is averaging 10.1 minutes, 4.4 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Korver is shooting 60% from the floor, 58.3% from three point range and he has yet to miss a free throw this season. His minutes will continue to go up as his conditioning gets better and he will be a huge asset to the Jazz.

The rookie Wesley Mathews has been a huge steal for the the Utah Jazz this season.  The Jazz didn’t even have to use a draft pick on him since the 6′5″ 220 lbs. Mathews was undrafted out of Marquette and the Jazz signed him as a free agent.  He has been playing with a big chip on his shoulder ever since getting passed up in the draft.  He has played in all 38 games for the Jazz (19 starts) and is averaging 8.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists on 48% shooting in only 23 minutes per game.  In his last few games, Mathews has really been effective in the short amount of playing time he is getting.  In the Jazz win over Miami last game, Mathews had 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in only 18 minutes of play.  The game before that in a win over Dallas, he had 10 points in only 14 minutes.  In a win over Memphis on January 6th, Mathews had 15 points, 3 assists, and 1 rebound in only 20 minutes.  So, in three of his last four games Mathews has easily scored in double figures even though he averaged only 16.5 minutes in those four games.  This guy is extremely efficient and when he plays well the Jazz seem to win.  In the 16 games this season that Mathews has scored in double-figures, the Jazz have won 11 of them.  Coincidence?  I think not.  They really need to get this guy on the court more.